Tuesday, April 19, 2011

 ABC Wednesday

The letter this week is N, which stands for Nebula

Stellar Spire in the Eagle Nebula

The Eagle has risen: Stellar spire in the Eagle Nebula



Appearing like a winged fairy-tale creature poised on a pedestal, this object is actually a billowing tower of cold gas and dust rising from a stellar nursery called the Eagle Nebula.  The soaring tower is 9.5 light years, or about 90 trillion kilometres high, about twice the distance from our Sun to the nearest star.
Stars in the Eagle Nebula are born in clouds of cold hydrogen gas that reside in chaotic neighbourhoods where energy from young stasrs sculpts fantasy-like landscapes in the gas.  The tower may be a giant incubator tor those newborn stars.  A torrent of ultraviolet light from a band of massive, hot, young stars is presently eroding 
this fabulous pillar..information from the internet

.A great place to go to see and explore heavenly creations such as this amazing nebula is The Galaxy Zoo, and a visit to this link will introduce you to a tutorial on ways to assist astronomers  in their discovery of the great array of fabulous objects in our universe.  


For other great interpretations of the letter N take the space ship over to ABC Wednesday, with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and her kindly crew of helpers.

16 comments:

Sylvia K said...

That is fantastic! I'd love to visit there! And what a great post for the N Day! Hope you have a wonderful day! Enjoy!

Sylvia
ABC Team

Carver said...

This was a fascinating post and a wonderful photograph.

Wanda said...

That is a fantastic image. What a great way to celebrate the Letter "N".

Cezar and Léia said...

This picture is very impressive, this is all new for me, thanks for sharing!
Léia :)

Roger Owen Green said...

This is NIFTY!
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Kay L. Davies said...

Oh, this is wonderful, Hildred! I was so busy admiring your blog-header I almost forgot to look at your post, but I'm glad I finally remembered. What exquisitely beautiful formations those far-away gaseous explosions make! And now we can see so many of them with today's technology.
Fabulous. Thank you.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Leslie: said...

What a neat post - that photograph is spectacular!

Leslie
abcw team

EG CameraGirl said...

I've never heard of the Galaxy Zoo before. I NEED to check it out. :)

Jane and Chris said...

I'm with Kay..I was totally distracted by your fabulous header !
Jane x

VioletSky said...

That was fun. I didn't too badly on the trial!

Barb said...

Hildred - such an interesting post (and what a nebula!). I love the new Header, too.

Christine said...

That is a great pic, and the lesson was stellar too.

Tumblewords: said...

My favorite nebula - a beautiful banner view, too!

Meryl said...

Thank you - great post, great photo and great link. I love your "n' take.

Reader Wil said...

How impressive Hildred and Charles! I wish I could go to the Galaxy Zoo!

Shooting Parrots said...

Great link to the Galaxy Zoo, although I failed the test!